Almond Hawthorne
by Obituary
Summary: UNKNOWNxOC . . .Almond Hawthone-Hanabi is pretty much a troublemaker. Much like Haruhi, she breaks an invaluable object, and is currently in debt with the Host Club. Yet, before that, she easily figured out Haruhi was a girl. So now, working for the Host Club disguised as her "twin brother" Alexander, she needs to figure out how to repay them. . .
1. Chapter One: The Troublemaker

**WELCOME TO MY VERY FIRST OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB FANFICTION.**

**This is still a work in progress, but I'm liking how it's turning out, so stay tuned for more updates~**

**Review plz? c;**

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"It was said that long before man ever stepped foot on the planet, that the Devil and the Holy Lord were brothers. They each were enthused in the idea of creating a stable and civilized earth, filled with human beings to carry out their righteousness. It was only when the youngest of the brothers, the Devil, changed his mind. There was no fun in creating something so holy, so grand. There needed to be excitement.

The Holy Lord, his older brother, dismissed this idea as being childish and impulsive. This never settled well, and the brothers fought for an eternity. It was only when the Holy Lord banished his brother from the sacred lands, did the Devil release his true reign of terror. Not to spite the humans, oh no, but to spite the creator himself.

He was defeated and frustrated. He unleashed his powers and created the snake, in which tempted the woman to bite into the apple. This was when his true rage was unleashed. Many claim the bible is a holy symbol, filled with nothing but purities, but what they're overlooking, are the sinister qualities it holds."

"Miss Hawthorne, stop right there this instant," said a sharp crisp female voice. The girl ends her speech and looks over in annoyance. The woman clad from head to toe in black, stared at her in horror, her mouth in a tight thin line. "What in the heavens are you saying?"

"Exactly what was just said," came the snide remark. The other girls in the room were sunk back into their seats, staring in shock.

"That is unacceptable. Completely, unacceptable," the woman said, striding to the front. The girl never moved an inch; she just clutched her paper in her hands. "How dare you speak lies to your peers and I?"

The girls' mouth twitches up in the corner. "Can you prove they're lies?"

The room was deathly silent. The woman slowly shook her head, in disbelief. "Can you prove that it's true?"

The girl shrugged, looking down at her paper. "Give me proof that this heavenly father exists, and then we'll talk." The girl replied sharply, glaring at the woman. She then grabbed at the cross hanging from her own neck, and ripped it off. The chain broke easily, as everybody in the room gasped.

"Almond Hawthorne, report to the office immediately." The woman said in slight terror.

The girl, Almond, just smiled, sweet as sugar. She then held the cross up to the woman's face, before throwing it across the room. The porcelain cross shattered on impact when it hit the floor, and everybody flinched.

"I don't seem to be getting destroyed by your so called Heavenly Lord." Almond spat out, reaching into her robe to pull out a pack of cigarettes. Everybody was too stunned to say anything. With a smile, she places a cigarette into her mouth, and lights the end. With a sharp inhale, she leans close to the woman, and blows a large plume of smoke into her face.

With that, she turns on her heels, and walks out of the classroom, the cigarette perched tightly in her fingers. She glared at anybody who looked at her wrong, and she walked down the flights of stairs, leading out of the old monastery. She kept up her pace, until she reached the curb of the street.

She could feel the tears stinging at her eyes, as she took a few more drags from her cigarette.

"What did I just do?" Almond asks softly, staring across the street. "My mothers are going to disown me on the spot."

She gulps as her phone vibrates in her pocket. With a jump, she pulls out the cell phone and looks at the number.

Speak of the Devil.

Well, that was ironic.

With a deep breath, she watches her phone buzz in her hand, as she slowly finishes her cigarette. They weren't going to let up, were they? It had already been ten minutes, as Almond flicks the cigarette butt to the street, taking a few deep breathes.

"Good morning, how are you?" Almond asks brightly.

"How dare you do that? Do you realize how hard it was to get you into that school? Do you understand how long it took for us to find enough money for tuition?" Came a woman's angered voice from the other line. Almond flinched and held the phone away from her ear.

"What gave you the idea to do that in the first place? I thought we raised you better than that! I know you don't follow religion, but that wasn't the point of you going to this school," came another woman's voice, sounding equally as angered, but her voice was softer.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry. Can you please pick me up? I'm sorry, I just want to get out of here," Almond said, tears running down her cheeks. It was silent on the other end.

Finally, a heavy sigh came from the other end. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Go to the coffee shop on Oakland Drive. Wait there."

The line went dead, and apparently so did the girls legs. She stumbled slightly, as she pressed the end button, returning the phone to her pocket. With a soft sigh, she walks down the street, staring at her shoes.

It only took her five minutes to get to the coffee shop. She entered the warm and cozy building, walking to the front. An elderly man looked at her, and smiled, his eyes sparkling.

"What brings the local trouble maker here?" He says warmly, pulling out a Styrofoam cup. He fills it with hot chocolate, and places it in front of the girl, followed along by a chocolate chip muffin. Almond smiles at him, sitting down in front of the counter on one of the rickety bar stools.

"Well, I just caused trouble, and now I'm in even more trouble," Almond says, sipping the hot chocolate. She picks at the muffin, eating the chocolate chips protruding from the top.

"What happened sweetheart?" The elderly man asks as his smile slips.

"I decided to become a Satanist in school," Almond says with a faint, gloomy laugh. The man examines her, before letting out a loud guffaw of laughter. Almond raises her eyebrows, biting into the muffin.

"That's brilliant! I always had a feeling that was going to happen. What did you do? Pretend to sacrifice a goat? Wear that tacky cross upside down? Burn a bible?"

Almond smiles at the man's enthusiasm. "I disproved the bible, and apparently began to spout out lies. Then I threw the cross across the room, shattering it, lit a smoke in the nuns face, and stormed out."

The man gawks at her, before going into another fit of laughter. After a few moments, he straightens up, wiping a tear from his sparkling blue eyes. "Bloody brilliant."

Almond nods, as the man wipes the counter chatting with her. She finished her hot chocolate, and he refilled her cup. He was her best friend, and that was saying a lot. After being kicked out of her previous school, and now, presumably, being kicked out of this one, she never made any friends. Her hide out was always this little coffee shop, where she met old Papa Joe. Since she made this her hide out, Papa Joe had found out many interesting things about Almond, and her family. They've known each other for almost six years now.

Almond smiles at him, as he finishes his story about his wife wanting to paint the kitchen bright orange.

"Tell Maggie that I think it's a terrible idea, and if she wants to brighten the kitchen, to go with a nice pastel yellow," Almond says, sipping the hot chocolate. Papa Joe nods in agreement.

The shops door then swings open, and a woman with long thick wine red hair appears in the doorway, narrowing her eyes at Almond. Papa Joe leans in to Almond with a faint smile, "Good luck sweetheart."

He straightens up and smiles warmly at the woman. "G'morning Evangeline, there's coffee in the pot; I'm going to slip out back for a few moments." Almond swings around to look at him, hoping he'd stay to act as her safety blanket. Her eyes glance down to a napkin, with 'you're on your own kid' scrawled on it. She huffs and grabs the napkin, cramming it deep into her pocket.

Evangeline walks over calmly to Almond, taking a seat beside her. She didn't say anything, she just grabbed Almond's hot chocolate, drinking some.

The calm before the storm, perhaps.

Almond slowly looked up to catch her mother's gaze. Her mother was looking at her with her hazel eyes, not saying anything. She didn't look angry, in fact, she looked almost happy. Almond narrowed her cool bright silvery-gray eyes, not knowing what to make of this.

"So, what happened?" Evangeline asks, rising from the seat to pour a cup of coffee, and to refill her daughters hot chocolate. Almond waited for her to sit back down, before sighing softly.

"We had to write an essay about the bible, and how it was a symbol of God," Almond started, glancing up to her mother. Evangeline nods, waiting for her to continue. "I wrote about how the bible was a load of jack, threw my cross, and lit a smoke in Sister Henrietta's face, then stormed out." Almond finishes quickly, looking down to her hot chocolate.

Evangeline sighs heavily, rubbing between her eyebrows. Then, she smiles slightly, shaking her head. "That's my girl."

Almond almost slipped off her chair, as she whips her head around to stare at her mother. Evangeline snorts and then begins to laugh loudly. Papa Joe poked his head around the corner and raised his eyebrows. Almond catches his glance and shrugs, shaking her head in pure confusion. He stifles a laugh as he ducks back into the room. Evangeline finally calms down, and then grins.

"Well, we had a feeling this wouldn't go over well either way, but you didn't have to prove it to us by going out in such a bang. Hell, they're probably sanitizing the classroom with holy water as we speak," Evangeline laughs. Almond then smiles, feeling relief rush over herself. "But, you aren't getting off the hook."

Relief was now replaced with sheer terror.

Evangeline rises to her feet, placing travel caps over the Styrofoam cups. She looks down at her daughter, a curious glint in her eyes. "Let's go. Say good bye to Papa Joe."

The way that was said, instantly concerned Almond. Evangeline took the cups and placed five dollars on the counter, walking out of the shop. Papa Joe slinked back into the front room and looks at Almond.

"Went better than expected, don't you think?" He says with a slight chuckle. Almond nods, worry biting at her mind. He looks at her.

"Papa Joe, I have an itching suspicion I won't be seeing you for a while," Almond finally says. Papa Joe smiles warmly and nods, walking from around the counter. He pulls Almond into a tight, loving hug. Almond gratefully hugs him back, inhaling the scent of cigarette smoke and nutmeg.

"Well sweetheart, you'll always know where to find me. You have the shops number and the house phone, so just keep in touch, and out of trouble."

Almond sniffs and nods. Papa Joe rubs her back and then pulls away, gripping her shoulders with his paw like hands. "I love you, troublemaker," Papa Joe says, looking at Almond warmly. Almond smiles and nods. "Love you too, Papa Joe."

He chuckles then turns her, nudging her towards the door. "Be good, and keep in touch sweetheart." Almond smiles and nods, waving to the man. She walks out the door and down the parking lot, reaching her mother's red Jetta. She opens the passenger side door and sits down.

After buckling up, Evangeline starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot, taking a left down the road.

"I have something to tell you," Evangeline begins, looking at her daughter. "It'll have to wait until we're home though."

Almond nods, and watches her mother put in a CD. She motions for Almond to work the dials, so she complies, turning up the volume.

It was a mostly silent car ride home, only the music playing in the background. When Evangeline shut of the engine, and got out, did Almond follow. She walked up the front steps and entered the house behind her mother. Another woman, with long black hair, and dark brown eyes stared at Almond, hands on her hips.

"I've brought the accused home, Kitashi," Evangeline bows slightly, smiling. She walks over to the pretty Japanese woman, and kisses her on the cheek. Almond smiles sheepishly at her mothers, as Kitashi shakes her head, running her hand through her hair.

"House meeting, kitchen, right now," Kitashi says, pointing to the entrance to the kitchen. Almond nods and walks past her mothers, taking a seat at the small table. Evangeline places her hot chocolate down, and sits across from Almond.

Kitashi soon enters, holding a few papers in her hands. She smiles at Almond and her wife, taking a seat beside Evangeline. Almond sips her hot chocolate nervously.

"Evan called me while she was waiting for you, and we're plenty passed the rage," Kitashi explains, sighing dramatically. Almond smiles slightly. "So, we have some news for you."

Almond straightens up, looking cautiously at the women sitting across from her.

Evangeline smiles and grabs a hold of her wife's hand, giving it a squeeze. Kitashi smiles and then looks over to Almond.

"We're moving."

Almond nods slowly, already figuring this much.

It was silent for a few moments.

"To Japan."

Now, Almond stood up quickly, stumbling over her chair. She gawks at her mothers.

"We're moving to Japan?" Almond shouts, her wavy long chocolaty brown hair bouncing off her shoulders. Kitashi and Evangeline look at each other, before nodding.

"Yep, tomorrow, actually. We were going to tell you a few weeks ago, but we didn't know when to tell you," Kitashi says softly. Almond simmers down, and sits.

"We're going to be living with your aunt, my sister," Kitashi explains, now speaking in Japanese. Evangeline smiles.

"And, we've already found you a great school," Evangeline continues, also speaking in Japanese.

"It better not be another Christian school," Almond hisses, narrowing her eyes at her mothers, also speaking in Japanese. Kitashi smiles proudly at her daughter.

"It isn't, it's a very elite private school though. You had better behave, or else I'll raise hell myself," Evangeline replies, her voice darkening considerably. Almond flinches and shrinks back into her seat, nodding.

When her mothers were serious, she had to listen, or else they'd probably disown her. Well, not really, but that's what it seemed like.

"So, our flight leaves at noon tomorrow. You've already said good bye to Papa Joe, yes?" Kitashi asks, looking at Almond. She nods, still getting over the initial shock.

"Good. Go and pack, we're going out for supper later," Kitashi says, smiling lovingly at her daughter. "You can only bring two suitcases, and a carry-on, so pack what you need. We can get everything else shipped up to us when we find a home of our own."

Almond nods, and rises from her seat, excitement now bubbling up in her chest. She walks over to the doorway.

"Also, Almond?" Kitashi says, catching her daughters attention. Almond turns her silvery-gray eyes towards her mothers.

"Your Japanese is perfect, I'm very proud of you," Kitashi says with a bright smile, nodding. Almond returns her smile.

"I was taught by the best, mom," Almond says. Kitashi winks at her, and then turns to Evangeline.

With a small chuckle, Almond scales the stairs to her bedroom.

She didn't have any friends to say good bye too, and she already saw Papa Joe off, so all that was left was to pack. Almond opens her bedroom door, and looks into her small sky blue room.

She sighs and opens her closet, grabbing a rack of clothing, then emptying the dresser onto her bed. She pulls a pair of jeans and a bright red t-shirt out of the pile, stripping out of her school uniform. After dressing, she puts her long wavy hair into a pony tail, staring at the piles of clothing sprawled on her bed.

A few hours had passed and Almond had successfully packed all of her clothing into the suitcases, leaving half a suitcase and two carry-ons to fill. She grabbed her only teddy bear off her bed and smiled.

It was a medium sized yellow and white dog, whom she named Pup. She placed Pup into the suitcase, and then began to pile anything else she could fit in. After zipping up the suitcases, she begins to pull books and other objects off her shelves, stuffing them into a carry-on. After successfully fitting her laptop, iPod and sketch books into one carry-on, she moved onto the last bag.

It took her basically the entire afternoon to pile everything she wanted to bring into the bags, but once she finished, she collapsed onto her bed, letting out a loud, but relived sigh.

"I'm moving to Japan with my two mothers, starting fresh in an entirely different country, going to a private school, in which I may not cause trouble or get kicked out." Almond says out loud, closing her eyes. It seemed so surreal. First she raises hell in her Christian school, and now she's moving to Japan.

What a weird day. With a yawn she slowly begins to doze off.

She must have only been asleep for half an hour, because her mother's woke her up at six in the afternoon. She sits up groggily and yawns.

"Come on, get ready. We're going out for supper now," Kitashi says, still speaking Japanese.

Almond nods, looking at her mothers. "Why are we still speaking Japanese?" Almond asks, also, in Japanese.

"Just to get accustomed to it, it's going to be our first language for many years to come," Evangeline says, winking. Almond nods, and then pulls on her flats, taking her hair out of her pony tail. She quickly runs a brush through her hair, before flouncing downstairs. Evangeline passes Almond her coat, before heading out the door.

Almond raises an eyebrow, slinking on the coat. She follows her mother's down the street, standing in the middle of them. "Where are we going?"

"We're headed to Maxes, for one last Canadian supper," Kitashi says with a smile. Almond grins and nods. They always went to Maxes if they were going out. They served the best anything- even the water tasted better at Maxes.

Within a few minutes, they were being seated at a booth, giving their orders to the waiter. He nods, and gives Almond a wink, before strutting away.

Evangeline huffs and throws her thick red hair over her shoulder, smirking at Almond.

"He has the hots for you," Evangeline says in a sing-song voice, as Almond blushes.

"Shush you," Almond scolds, smiling. The three of them laugh, and Almond leans back in the seat. She watches her mothers' flirt with each other, talking about their own tales in Japan.

She couldn't have wished for a better family that this. People used to give her weird looks, after finding out her parents were lesbians, and she was adopted when she was only a baby. But honestly, if she were to choose her parents, she would have chosen them. They've been together for twenty years, and they both met in Japan. They moved to Canada together, and looked into adoption.

Neither of them felt right having a surrogate father around, so instead of that, they went to the adoption agency. After a few months, they came home with their baby girl, who they named Almond Coraline Rose Hawthorne-Hanabi. Long name, but she always liked it.

Once their food arrived, they all dug in. Their dinner conversation consisted of Almond questioning them about the school.

"So, what's the school called?" Almond asks, sipping her ginger ale.

"Ouran High School," Evangeline replied with a smile. Almond nodded.

"So, it's a private school?"

"Yes, and a very high class one at that. It's costing us a fortune to enroll you. Only rich folk are able to send their children there," Kitashi explains, taking a bite from her hamburger.

"How did you get the money?" Almond asks, now suspicious.

"We've had a savings account for you, because we were going to be moving back to Japan either way, and your aunt always bragged up the school. So, why not," Evangeline says with a grin. Almond nods.

After the trio had finished eating, they went back to the house. Almond bade her mother's good night, as she went to sleep in her room for one final time, before being moved to Japan.

"This should be an adventure, that's for sure." Almond mumbles, curling up in her bed. It was only 9pm, but she wanted to be well rested.

At about 10pm, she fell asleep, clutching her pillow tightly to her chest.

The morning came way to fast, as Almond hauls her suitcases and carry-ons down the staircase, leaving them at the door with her mothers'. She trudges back upstairs and goes to the bathroom, locking the door. After a long shower, she blow dries her hair, and leaves in it lose curly waves. After applying some eyeliner and mascara, she walks out of the bathroom.

She was wearing a nice light brown dress, with black tights underneath. She yawns as she makes her way to the kitchen, smiling at her mothers', who were already dressed and ready to go.

"Good morning," Evangeline says in Japanese. Almond smiles and goes to the now empty fridge, pulling out a single carton of orange juice.

"You look lovely today, Almond," Kitashi says, as she enters the room. Kitashi had her hair up in twin buns, chopsticks poking out of them.

"As do you," Almond compliments, sipping her juice box through the straw. Evangeline smiles, and goes over to kiss Kitashi. She then turns her attention to Almond.

"Breakfast is on the counter, we're leaving in half an hour."

With that being said, Almond quickly eats her breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. After finishing her juice box, she runs up the stairs and stops at her room, staring into it.

She pauses and then walks over to her wall, staring at the photograph.

"I can't believe I almost forgot this," Almond says softly, as she gingerly grabs the picture frame, taking it from the wall. She stares at the picture, sighing softly.

There were three girls in the photo, Almond one of them. She smiles softly.

It was the day that her and her best friends went to the beach. It was a year ago, before the accident that took their lives. She shivers at the memory, as she touches the glass frame.

Amelia was on the left, Josie on the right and Almond in the center. All three of them were smiling brightly, laughing. With a shake of her head, she takes the picture downstairs, safely tucking it into her bag.

Her mother's saw this and smiled sadly. They both loved Amelia and Josie, and their accident broke Almond. She had finally gotten over their deaths, and had accepted that they wouldn't be returning. Evangeline looks at her wife.

"I think we should make a pit stop."

Kitashi nods, understanding. "Almond, let's get going," Kitashi says, as she grabs some suitcases. Almond nods, and grabs the remainder, putting everything into the Jetta. Evangeline ran a quick check of the house, before shutting off the power, locking the door.

After they all pile into the vehicle, they begin to drive.

Almond blinks, after about twenty minutes of driving. "We passed the airport."

The women in front both nod, looking at Almond in the rear view mirror. They soon pull into a small vacant parking lot, and Almond's heart skips a beat. She looks at her mother's and they both nod. She jumps out of the car, and goes racing over the small path, past different tombstones. After a few moments, she slows down, and stops in front of two elegant black marble tombstones. She stops and walks in the middle of them, sitting on the soft grass.

The tears began to slide down her cheeks, as she places her hands on the tombs.

"Hey guys," Almond starts, looking over the tombstones. "I'm moving to Japan, isn't that insane? I also was given the boot from that crappy Christian school," Almond says with a sad laugh. "You guys would have loved to of seen what I did. It was pretty awesome."

Almond continues to speak, her hands never leaving the tombstones. She explains what's been happening with her and her mothers, and about the new school she would be going too. Soon, though, she rises from her feet and smiles down at the tombs.

"I love you guys. You're always in my hearts. I'll be back to visit, I promise," Almond says. After a few minutes, she walks back to the car, sliding into the backseat.

"Thank you," she says to her mothers. They both smile and nod, pulling out of the parking lot.

After driving in silence to the airport, they unload their luggage. They hand over all their suitcases to the front, and then go through security. Within the next twenty minutes, they board the plane, and walk down the aisle, placing their carry-ons over head of their seats. Almond sits nears the window, as her mothers both sit beside her.

"Ready for this to begin, Momo?" Kitashi asks her daughter, smiling.

"Of course, but I'll probably sleep through the flight," Almond says with a laugh, smiling. Momo was the nickname she got when she was three. Obsessed with peaches, and pretty plump at that time, earned her the nickname Momo.

The plane took off, and Almond, true to her word, fell asleep.

It would be a long flight, so what else was there to do, really.


	2. Chapter Two: She's Feisty

It was Monday morning of their first week in Japan. Almond had met her Aunt, and she was sent the uniform for her school, and a list of books. They had already been out shopping, and everything was set up. Evangeline was busy organizing her new flower shop down the road, and Kitashi was still working on her third novel. Almond was busy practicing her Japanese, even though it was nearly perfect. Many people stared at her, a little taken back from the tanned girl with big silvery eyes, and the weird Canadian accent.

It was six in the morning. Almond had to leave at seven, and she had just gotten up. Her new bedroom was pretty plain, but she had managed to set most of her things up to suit her desires. With a yawn she brushes her hair, staring in the mirror across from her. She showered last night, knowing it probably would take her forever to get out of bed. With a stretch, she opens her small closet.

The yellow monstrosity was right in front, as she shudders. They sure had weird uniforms in Japan. With a sigh, she pulls it off the rack, pulling her crinoline on, examining the soft fluffiness of it. Then, she slides the dress over her head, adjusting it over the puffy crinoline. After fixing it up, she pulls her white stockings on, then the shoes.

"I'm amazed they don't tell you what underwear to wear," she mutters, looking back into the mirror.

She blushes at her reflection. Her curves were enhanced in this dress, and the yellow really enhanced her "assets". With a shudder, she examines her wild hair. It was curling at the ends and around the sides of her face but at least her bangs were being nice, falling lightly across her forehead. She leaves her hair as is, and applies her usual eye liner/mascara combo, but with a bit of silvery eye shadow to enhance her eyes.

With another loud yawn, she stalks out of her room, down the hallway, into the living area. Her mothers' and aunt were drinking tea, with a fourth cup set aside, for her, she assumed. Evangeline was the first to notice her.

"Ahh, you look absolutely stunning darling," Evangeline gushed, placing her hand over her mouth. Kitashi looks over as well and grins broadly.

"Beautiful lady," she smiles, moving aside for her to sit. Almond blushes and winks at her mothers', taking a seat beside Kitashi.

"Good morning Momo," her aunt, Kina, says with a bright smile, pushing the tea cup closer to her.

Almond picks up the cup and smiles. "Good morning, Aunt Kina." Her aunt pauses, and then smirks.

"You taught her perfect Japanese, I'm quite impressed little sister." Kitashi rolls her eyes and waves her hand dismissively.

"So, are you excited for school?" Evangeline asks, eying her daughter over her tea cup. Almond sips her tea and smiles at her mother.

"In other words, are you planning on being good in school?" Almond asks with a grin. Evangeline smirks and swats her daughters head playfully.

"Yes, exactly that."

Almond nods, noticing all eyes in the room were on her. "Yeah, I think I'll buckle down and actually try. You guys have done so much for me, I think it's time that I actually be grateful."

Evangeline and Kitashi both smile proudly.

"Well, I suppose you'd better get going. I'll drive you," Kina says as she rises to her feet. Almond nods, following suit.

"We're going early, because apparently the place is huge," Almond says, kissing her mothers'. "Have a good day, see you after school."

They both nod and smile at their daughter, as Almond walks out the door with her aunt.

After getting in the car, and setting down the road, does Almond sigh. Kina looks at her questioningly.

"What's up, Momo?"

"It's just, I'm really nervous. This school is so hyped up, and prestigious, I don't think I'll fit in," Almond says quickly, looking to her aunt for reassurance. Her aunt smiles warmly.

"Dear, I went to the school when I was your age. It is a marvelous place, and everybody is friendly," Kina says, throwing her a dashing smile. Almond smiles back and nods, her eyes now being drawn to the streets.

People were bustling around, now that they've risen from their slumber. Almond blinks and looks at the time. It was only twenty after six, and people were up and about.

"Early risers, starting the day at the crack of dawn," her aunt mutters, as if reading her mind. Almond nods dismissively, as the buildings soon begin to shrink away. Soon, a large field of trees, flowers and grass was in view.

Almond scrunches up her eyebrows in confusion, as she looks out the front window. Up ahead was a pristine, white, palace of sorts, laced with golden trim, and a golden sign. Her mouth dropped, as she shrunk into her seat.

This place was absolutely gorgeous.

Her aunt pulling up to the gate and looks at Almond, who was staring with her mouth open. She laughs and places her hand on Almond's arm.

"You'll be fine. Just go through the main doors, and keep going straight. The office will register you, and you'll get a timetable, and a map." Kina says with a grin. "Now get going."

Almond nods numbly, opening the door. Her books were sent to the school prior, so she wouldn't have to carry them. "I'll see you later, auntie."

"I'll be here at five. You'll have to stick around for about forty minutes after school, sorry about that."

"It's fine, have a good day," Almond says, smiling. Her aunt nods, and then drives away.

Almond has never felt any smaller than this, as she stared at the overpowering school. With a few awkward breaths, she walks up the cobblestone path, towards the large, elegant doors. She opens them, and steps inside.

It was deathly quiet, except for the sound of typing. Almond looks around, before walking in, pausing at the front desk. The plump Japanese woman glances at her, and then does a double take.

"Good morning, dear. How can I help you?" The woman asks, slowly, as if Almond wouldn't understand her Japanese.

"Good morning, ma'am. I'm Almond Hawthorne-Hanabi, the new student," Almond says, making sure to speak quickly, but clearly. The woman seems to get the picture, as she straightens up.

"Alright, that's A-… Almond, Hawthorne-Hanabi? Welcome to Ouran." The woman says, typing into the laptop. Almond nods, looking around. A few seconds later, the sound of a printer goes, as Almond looks over.

The plump woman scuttles from her chair to the printer, extracting three pieces of paper, handing them to Almond. She takes them, and reads over them.

"Your timetable, a map and a list of rules and regulations," the woman explains, as Almond looks over the map.

"Thank you, have a good morning."

The plump woman nods, resuming her work. Almond looks at the map.

After examining it, she walks up a large elegant spiral staircase, to one of the floors. She looks around awkwardly, before tucking the map into her pocket. She had two hours to get lost, so might as well get it over with. She walks down a random hallway, examining the names on the doors, as she walks blankly.

She has never seen this much Japanese in her life, and she felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated. With a few looks around, she pauses in front of a door, leading to a music room. She blinks.

Almond used to play the piano when she was younger, Evangeline taught her. With an awkward glance around, she opens the door and steps in. She pauses as she hears voices, as they stop abruptly. Seven sets of eyes turned to her, some curious, others annoyed, but most blank.

"Ahh, I'm sorry," Almond panics, and then realizes she spoke English. She blushes and shrinks back. "I'm sorry," she repeats, in Japanese this time.

A boy with shaggy blonde hair, clutching a stuffed bunny is the first to speak, grinning broadly.

"You're really pretty!"

Almond was taken back, as she glances at him.

"Ahh, thank you. I like you're… bunny," Almond stutters, smiling meekly. The blonde's grin widens, even more if possible.

"Almond Hawthorne-Hanabi, transferred from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada," one of the men with cool dark eyes and glasses comments, causing Almond to narrow her eyes. She steps into the room, and placed her hands on her hips.

"How'd you know that, you creep?" She asks.

Then, the twins of the group begin to grin.

"Aye, I like this one," one of them begins.

"She's pretty feisty, dontcha think?" The other ends.

Almond looks at the twins and smirks lightly, before returning her gaze to the guy with glasses. He examines her.

"I have information about everybody in this school," he says as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Almond leans back, her face contorting.

"That's pretty weird," she mutters. One of the boys with brown hair snickers slightly. Her eyes go to him, and she does a double take. "Why are you dressed like a guy?"

Everybody in the room freezes. Almond looks around questioningly, waiting for an answer.

"What are you talking about?" A taller guy with blonde hair asks, looking highly suspicious. Almond rolls her eyes, and points directly at the brown haired girl.

"Her, wearing the boys uniform. She's clearly a girl, her features are too soft to be a man's," Almond says looking bewildered. "Don't tell me you guys didn't know."

The guy with glasses frowns, and looks at her.

"Well well, aren't you perceptive," he says, walking over to her. She blinks and shrinks back, he towered over her.

"I try my best," Almond says, regaining her confidence. They stare at each other.

"You can't tell anybody you know this."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it's a secret."

Almond snorted. "No shit, tell me something I didn't know."

The twins begin to laugh, before prancing over.

"I'm Hikaru, and this is Kaoru," one of them says, motioning. The other frowns.

"No, I'm Hikaru, and this is Kaoru," the other says, frowning.

Almond stares.

"Uhh, Almond?" She says, raising her eyebrows. The twins then smirk and lean in close.

"Which ones are we? Do you know?" They ask, devilishly.

Almond shrugs and looks at them. "Eh, you're Hikaru, you're Kaoru?" She guesses. The twins both grin.

"Wron-"

"You're right." The girl says, smiling slightly. Hikaru and Kaoru turn and stare at the girl dressed as a guy.

"Traitor," they say at the same time.

Almond looks back to the guy with glasses. He seemed to be writing something down on a clipboard.

"So, anyway," Almond starts, beginning to back out of the room.

"Hold on, I have a question for you," the guy with glasses says with authority. Almond goes rigid, as she stares at him. "Would you like to join the host club?"

Everybody in the room, including Almond gawked.

"Pardon me?"

The guy with glasses doesn't speak; he just looks over at the tall blonde.

"She knows, so we need to keep her."

Almond gawks, even more. "You're trying to hold me hostage?"

"On the contrary, you have what this club would need. A feisty, little devil, if you'd may," the guy with glasses states. The tall blonde with brilliant purple eyes examine Almond.

"And she's pretty exotic."

Almond frowns, crossing her arms.

"Why would I join this club?"

"Because it's a good experience, and you get to meet a lot of different people," the twins say at the same time, seeming to like this idea. Almond looks over at them, and frowns.

"You might have to dress as a male though," the tall blonde says, rubbing his chin. Almond dead pans.

"No."

"Come on, you'd look good as a guy."

"No."

"Why not, it's fun."

Almond frowns and turns on her heels, her dress bumping into a small pillar. She blinks and looks over, as a round ball falls to the ground.

It shatters.

Almond's eyes widen.

"This seems oddly familiar," the brown haired girl says, sounding slightly glum.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I'll buy you a new one, I didn't mean too, how much is it?" Almond fires out, turning around with wide eyes.

Everybody but the other girl, and guy with glasses, stood there with shocked expressions.

"What you just broke there, was an extremely valuable, one of a kind, Egyptian glass sapphire orb, erected from King Tuts tomb," the guy with glasses states calmly, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

Almond pales, stumbling back.

"It's valued at nine million yen," the guy continues.

Almonds jaw grows slack, as her eyes stare at the shattered fragments.

"I'll take the money in the form of a check."

Almond passes out.

"Good work, Kyoya," Tamaki says quickly, as he catches Almond. The twins look her over, as Honey strides over.

"Is Almond-chan okay?" He asks worriedly.

"She'll be fine, lay her on the couch over there," Kyoya mutters, as he walks over to the shattered remnants. He carefully scoops them up, and carries them over to a small silver dish, putting the shards in. "This is quite the predicament."

Haruhi rolls her eyes and walks over to Almond, as she sits at the end of the couch. With a sigh, she looks over at everybody.

"I hope Kyoya doesn't do what he did with me," Haruhi says with a glance over at the man with glasses. The twins mock hurt as they stare at Haruhi.

"Do you mean,"

"You don't like our company?"

Haruhi laughs and shakes her head. "No, not at all, but she seemed a little shocked."

Tamaki nods in agreement, looking over Almond.

"She really did, yes."

Almond could hear voices around her, but all she could see against her eyelids was the precious glass sapphire ball that fell and shattered. Repeating, over and over again.

She jolts up and gasps, looking around.

"Oh my god."

Everybody jumps, looking at Almond.

"I'll pay you back, I'm so sorry," Almond says, looking at Kyoya.

Kyoya shakes his head, striding over.

"You could just join the club, and the money you earn from the work you do, can pay it off. You, are now in debt, to me," the man says coolly.

Haruhi frowns in disapproval.

"Really, Kyoya?"

Almond shrinks back into the couch, blushing darkly from embarrassment.

"Of course, of course, I'll work here damn it," Almond says. The little blonde then grins widely and throws his arms around Almond.

"Yay! That makes me and Bun-chan here happy! Do you like cake? We can eat cake together!" The little boy says happily. Almonds heart melts as she glances to the side.

"S-Sure, I didn't catch your name," Almond says softly.

"Honey! Call me Honey! And this is Mori," the boy chants, walking to the tallest of the group, and apparently the quietest. He just nods. Almond nods back, still severely embarrassed.

"I'm Tamaki, that's Kyoya, this is Haruhi, and the twins have introduced themselves. Would you like some tea?"

Almond nods meekly, before two hands get shoved in her face. She blinks and looks up at the twins. They both grinned. She smiles back, and places her hands in theirs, being hoisted to her feet. They usher her to a table, where Haruhi explains her situation, and why it was important to not tell anybody. Almond nods, as a tea cup gets set in front of her. She smiles at Tamaki, as he blushes lightly.

Soon, everybody is seated at the table, looking at Almond.

"So, Miss Almond, tell us about yourself," Kyoya says, emotionlessly. She frowns.

"What would you like to know?"

"Everything."

Almond rolls her eyes drastically, before sipping her tea. She clears her throat, and begins.

"I was put up for adoption about three months after my birth, since my birth mother was only sixteen when she had me. I was adopted by my mothers' Evangeline and Kitashi, and I've been living in Canada my entire life. I was a bad ass in school, always ditching to go get drunk, go to parties, have a blast. I also caused massive hell with my best friends, Josie and Amelia. I was a pyromaniac when I was younger, and I almost set my previous school ablaze, but I was caught and I got the boot. My mothers' were quite unimpressed with me, so I went to a simple public school."

Almond explains, sipping her tea, also letting everybody process this information.

"Then the accident happened, and my temper flared madly, and I went into a downhill spiral, messing my life even more. I had just recovered, and then I was booted from the public school due to my low grades and attendance record. I was sent to an all-girls Christian school, but that only lasted half a year before I got fed up and disproved the bible, broke a cross, and lit a smoke in my teachers face. Then, I was enrolled here, and I arrived in Japan with my mothers' a week ago, today."

Almond finishes, leaning back.

"What was this accident?" Kyoya pries. Almond grinds her teeth and looks at him.

"Why are you so damn nosy?"

"Because I'm curious," Kyoya plainly states.

"Well, don't be."

It was silent, until Honey spoke up.

"Was it a bad accident?" He asks softly, looking up at Almond with gentle brown eyes. Almond doesn't move for a few minutes before exhaling loudly.

"I was at a party with Josie and Amelia. We were all drunk, having the time of our lives on the beach. Amelia got sick, and she asked a guy for a ride home, but Josie and I wouldn't let her leave alone, because none of us knew this guy."

"You sound like a true friend, drunk or not. They're lucky you're level headed," Haruhi states. Almond doesn't respond.

"So, we climbed into his truck, giggling like little school girls. We were driving down the road when somebody crashed into us. We weren't smart that night, because we weren't wearing our seatbelts. Josie was vaulted out of the windshield, Amelia was thrown onto broken glass, and the driver, Jerrald, I think, was crushed by a hunk of metal. I was in the back seat, behind the passenger's seat, so I wasn't injured."

Everybody remained silent.

"Josie broke her neck, and died instantly. Amelia was impaled through the chest by a large, and sharp piece of windshield. Jerrald was crushed to death. I only got my side slashed open by a hunk of debris, so I got to watch my best friends die."

Almond furiously wipes away the tears, and stares coldly at Kyoya.

"Happy now? I'll be going now. Have a good damn day," Almond snarls, standing up. Before she could move a foot, arms were wrapped around her, embracing her tightly. She jolts at this, and then she sobs loudly.

The twins had their arms around her waist, Tamaki was holding her to his chest, Honey was clinging to her legs, and Haruhi was tucked between Tamaki and Hikaru. Kyoya stood off to the side, watching. Mori was near the huddle, his large hand placed on top of Almonds head.

"Don't leave, you need somebody with you."

"And we'll be by your side."

"Whether you like it or not."

"Either way, you're in the club, so we're you're friends now."

"Plus, you'll ruin you're make up."

"Things will get better," Mori finished the commentary from everybody.

Almond stood completely still, enveloped in warmth. This was weird.

She was also mentally scolding herself for telling so many people, and then breaking down.

Almond knew she wasn't this weak. It was her temper, her mood swings, and that touchy subject. Almond shudders slightly, pushing the images of the wreck out of her head. Everybody slowly let her go, as she stood there, staring at the ground. This wasn't embarrassing at all.

"Almond?"

"Call me Momo," Almond says softly, to Haruhi, who just spoke.

"Alright, Momo. What classes do you have? Maybe you're with some of us," Haruhi says, adverting the topic that was at hand. Almond blinks, and pulls out her timetable, looking at it.

"Science first, then art. Lunch, music, literature," she reads off quietly. They all nod, most of them grinning.

"You have a weird timetable, you're with almost every grade," Kaoru comments. "You have Science with myself and Hikaru."

"Art with me," Haruhi adds.

"Lunch with Mori, Bun-chan and I!" Honey chirps, happily.

"Music with myself," Tamaki says with a smile.

"Literature," Kyoya states.

Almond just stares, more than confused. She then smiles slightly, and nods, before looking at Kyoya, with slight disdain. With an awkward sigh, she slouches.

"I apologize for snapping at you. Also, what does this club entitle?"

Kyoya nods off the apology, looking at her.

"You'll dress as a male for the club, and have a code name. How does Tokoru Siho, sound?" Kyoya states.

Almond frowns, but nods.

"You'll join Tamaki for your first day, which is today, and just get a feel of what the club does. Since we have literature together, I'll take you back here after school so you don't get lost. The club ends at five, and we meet early in the mornings, and during our thirty minute breaks."

Almond nods, again.

"I'll have everything set up for you, so don't worry."

Almond nods, as the bell sounds.

"Ah, class is beginning. Come with us," the twins say together, as they bid a quick farewell to everybody.

"Okay, see you all later," Almond says, confused, as she gets dragged from the room. Once the doors shut, Tamaki looks over to Kyoya.

"Are you sure about this?"

Kyoya simply nods.

Tamaki examines him, before looking away, accepting his judgement.

"I hope Almond knows what she got herself into," Haruhi says, before walking towards the doors.

"She'll be fine!" Honey says brightly, clutching to Mori.

With a farewell, they all depart, heading to their respectful classes.

Interesting morning, so far.


	3. Chapter Three: Hidden Talents

"Why… Are… There… So… Many… Stairs?" Almond gasps, climbing her third set of spiral stairs with the twins on either side of her. They both just laugh, placing their hands on her shoulders, giving her a slight push.

"Because it's a large school," Hikaru states plainly, grinning.

"And stairs are faster than elevators, oddly enough," Kaoru comments, looking thoughtful.

Almond just nods, gripping her dress so she wouldn't step on it. She did take note of the people giving her odd looks, but having Hikaru and Kaoru by her side made those weird stares seem a tad more tolerable. They chatted with her about their lives, and how they came to be in the club. Almond listened carefully, feeling a slight pang of jealousy. They then escort her to her locker, which was more like a fully furnished closet. She gawks for a few seconds, before pulling her science text book out.

They nod, and take her by the wrists, leading her up yet another staircase. Almond groans loudly as they laugh.

"Get used to the stairs,"

"Because they aren't going anywhere!"

Almond laughs with them and nods, still climbing.

"This place is so big, how do you get to classes on time?" She asks, looking at either twins. Hikaru grins.

"After the first bell goes, we have fifteen minutes to get to class," Kaoru explains, laughing near the end. Almond blinks and narrows her eyes.

"So why are we rushing, like the building is on fire?" She asks slowly. The twins both laugh.

"Because it's better to be early, and out of the way of traffic,"

"Than to be late, and surrounded by people."

Almond blinks and nods. It was understandable. She was about to ask what the host club did, but they reached the classroom. The door was opened, and they ushered her into the room, up to the very back. They made her sit against the wall, near the window, as the twins slide in beside her trapping her in.

Kaoru blinks and smiles at her. "This class is a bore, so once the teacher, Mr. Innu, stops his morning rant, we're basically free to do whatever."

Hikaru nods. "We normally only have to read a chapter or two of the text book, and that's it."

Almond blinks, and grins, leaning back. Thank god, she never liked science, and by the sounds of it, science still didn't like her. She blinks as she hears another bell, her gaze moving to the twins questioningly.

"Warning bell, only five minutes until class," Hikaru explains.

"Ahh, so people should be filling in here soon?" Almond asks. The twins nod, setting their text books on the desks. Almond follows suit and sits up, glancing out the window. She yelps slightly, and shuffles back, into Kaoru. He blinks.

"What's wrong?"

Hikaru also blinks, looking at her curiously.

"Do you realize how high up we are, and how fragile that window looks?" Almond asks, softly tapping on the glass. It tinkles like a wine glass. The twins laugh, as Kaoru pokes her cheek. She huffs and sits up, throwing cautious glances at the window.

"Are you scared you're going to fall out of the window or something?" Hikaru asks, with a laugh.

Almond glares at him. "Yes, I am. I don't find the thought of plummeting to the ground, and dying."

The twins shrug, both smiling slightly.

"You won't fall, you're fine."

She nods, giving the window a nervous glance, as people begin to settle into their desks. She notices many people looking up to the back, eye-humping the twins. She peeks at the twins through her hair, pretending to examine the cover of her text book.

They were really attractive, with their messy- but at the same time, tidy, reddish brown hair, and their bright mischievous honey-golden eyes, surrounded by nice long eye lashes. Plus they were both tall, and from what she could tell, they both had really nice bodies. She quickly adverts her gaze, as Hikaru looks over to her.

A slow grin spreads on his face.

Almond blushes slightly, mainly due to embarrassment.

"Hey Momo, people are looking at you," Kaoru comments, looking at her. Almond blinks and looks up, as a few heads swivel back to the front. She sinks into her seat.

"You're already popular," Hikaru says lightly, laughing. Almond runs a hand through her hair.

"I think it's because I'm with you guys, some of the girls didn't look too happy," she mutters. The twins shrug.

"Well, it's their fault then,"

"For not being friends with us,"

"Just customers."

Almond blinks and looks at the twins, who both smile brightly at her. She returns the smile, and then looks to the front, as the teacher makes his presence known.

"Good morning class. It appears we have a new student with us today," Mr. Innu explains, his eyes landing on Almond. She throws a sideway glance at the twins, who just smile. "Please come to the front, and introduce yourself."

"Are we in kindergarten?" Almond mutters, rising awkwardly, due to her dress. The twins both chuckle, as they lean back. "You aren't even going to move?"

"Nope."

With a sigh, she clambers over top of them, hoping her dress hit them in the face. She then straightens up, and walks down to the front. She stands beside the teacher, and faces the classroom.

"Hello, I'm Almond Hawthorne-Hanabi, new transfer student from Victoria, British Columbia."

Some of the students gave her odd looks.

"Canada." She says, feeling as though they're mindless idiots. She could hear some people laugh.

"How can you speak Japanese so well?" A girl asks, curiously.

"One of my mothers are Japanese, so she taught me at a young age," Almond explains. This caught some people's attention.

"One of them?"

"I don't have a father, I have two lovely mothers," Almond sighs, saying this line more than once in her life. Some people nod, others just stare blankly at her.

"So they're lesbians?"

"Are you a lesbian?"

"Are they hot?"

Almond blushes darkly, and glares at a handful of guys who were snickering. She noticed the twins frowning, as she shakes her head.

"Yes, they're lesbians, no I'm not, and even if they are hot, they wouldn't be interested in you," Almond comments sharply, walking back up the aisle.

The class laughs, as the boys shrink back, glaring at Almond. After squeezing back into her seat, the twins grin at her.

"You handled that well,"

"Exceptionally well."

Almond smiles and nods, as Mr. Innu began his lesson.

The class seemed to last forever, but the twins kept her awake through it, and they even read the chapters they were supposed to.

Soon, the bell rang, and the twins and her shot out of the classroom, giggling.

"That actually happened?" Almond snickers. The twins both laugh once in the hallway and nod.

"Yeah, it actually did."

Almond shakes her head with a smile, as the twins take her to her next class. It only took one flight of stairs, and Haruhi was standing outside the classroom. She smiles when she spots Almond and the twins.

"Well, this is where we depart,"

"So, we shall see you during our break."

Almond smiles and nods, as the twins say their hellos and goodbyes to Haruhi.

"How was your first class?" Haruhi asks, sitting down. Almond takes a seat beside her and smiles.

"It was pretty fun, I already made some people look like fools, I have no homework, and I'm with Hikaru and Kaoru, so that's even better." Haruhi laughs and nods.

There weren't many people in the art class, only about ten. So, Almond didn't have to get out of her seat to introduce herself, which was a change.

After given their assignment, Haruhi and Almond worked together to make a clay vase.

"So, you're in the host club because you broke an irreplaceable vase?" Almond asks, getting her hands damp to work the clay. Haruhi sighs.

"Yep, now I work with them to repay the debt," Haruhi comments, but with a smile on her face.

Almond notices this, and also smiles.

"You like it though?"

"Yeah, the guys are really sweet," Haruhi says, looking at Almond, with a smile. They both then turn their attention to the clay they're kneading with their damp hands, both wearing smocks so they don't ruin their uniforms.

After the main body of the vase was made, Haruhi looks at Almond.

"I think my dad would like you," she comments, with a knowing smile.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we have quite a bit in common," Haruhi continues, passing a piece of clay to Almond. She takes the clay, and begins working on a handle for the vase.

"Well that's good, maybe I can come over and visit some time," Almond says. Haruhi nods.

"That would be nice."

They worked in a comfortable silence, attaching the handles to the vase. After scalping little designs into the base, they carefully transport it to the kiln, placing it inside. They shut the large lid, as the teacher starts the oven.

"It'll be done tomorrow, so you just have to sand it down, paint it, and then add the protective glossy over coat," the teacher explains. They both nod, and return to their seats after washing their hands.

"I think this was a productive class," Almond comments. Haruhi nods in agreement.

"You know what we should do?"

"Hmm?"

"Put our finished vase in the host club room, just to see how people react," Haruhi says with a soft laugh. Almond also laughs, nodding.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she grins. Haruhi smiles, and looks at the clock.

"Ten minutes. Let's see if the teacher will let us leave early," Haruhi says, looking at Almond for approval. Almond nods eagerly, as they both rise from their seats, walking to the front.

"Mrs. Ichigaki, can we leave early today? We're finished out assignment," Haruhi asks, her big brown eyes boring into the teacher. Mrs. Ichigaki falters. She looks over Almond and Haruhi before nodding.

"Alright, just don't be loud, and if anybody asks, I didn't let you go," Mrs. Ichigaki says with a smile. The two nod, before walking out of the classroom. They walk in silence through the hallway, deciding to go lurk around the cafeteria so Almond wouldn't get lost finding it.

"This school is too big for its own good," Almond shudders. Haruhi laughs.

"You'll get used to it. It took me forever to find my classes," Haruhi smiles. Almond nods as they begin to descend the thousand flights of stairs.

"I hate stairs," Almond grumbles with a laugh. Haruhi laughs as well, nodding her agreement.

"So, Kyoya has some plans for you," Haruhi comments, looking at Almond. She pauses.

"Such as?" Almond asks.

"Well, for one you're going to be dressed as a male, posing as your twin brother, who is in advanced classes, which is why nobody will ever see him, and the theme for today is 'Winter Wonderland'," Haruhi says with a sigh. Almond frowns.

"Weird, last time I checked, I didn't know I had a twin brother," Almond says. Haruhi chuckles.

By the time they got down to the final flight, the bell rings. Haruhi sighs. "My lunch is in an hour, so I'll see you at the thirty minute break."

"Oh, alright. See you then," Almond smiles. Haruhi nods and walks down a hallway, as Almond looks at the doors leading to the cafeteria. She enters the doors, and is instantly in a hug.

"Hello Momo! Want to have some cake with me and Bun-Chan?" Honey asks brightly, looking up at her. Mori came forward and smiled ever so slightly at Almond.

"Sure, but let's have something healthier first, okay?" Almond asks.

Honey frowns, but Mori nods.

"Momo is correct, it's better to have something healthy first," Mori says softly. He had a really nice voice. Honey sighs in defeat, nodding.

The three of them go to the cafeteria line, Almond and Honey each picking a piece of strawberry shortcake of the swirling cake rack, before getting some, apparently, high class stew. Mori gets some stew and a piece of rye bread. Almond goes to pay, but Mori gives the cashier the money before she could even get hers out. She blinks and looks up at him.

"You don't need to pay for me," Almond says, looking concerned. Mori looks down at her, and smiles.

"It's alright," he says. Almond sighs and nods, as Honey takes her hand, leading her to a table that's blocked off by red velvet ropes. She pauses.

"Isn't this place reserved?" She questions. Honey grins.

"Reserved by the host club, yeah!" Honey says delighted, as Mori unclasped the rope. Almond enters first, and sets her tray down, as Honey climbs into the seat across from her, Mori sitting beside him. Honey sets Bun-Chan onto the table and smiles lovingly at his bunny.

"I have my own little friend back at home," Almond says suddenly, her eyes moving from Bun-Chan to Honey. Honey's eyes brighten a bit. "He's a little yellow and white puppy, I named him Pup."

"Maybe Bun-Chan and Pup could be friends! Bring him to school tomorrow, okay?" Honey says excitedly, eating his stew.

Almond laughs, and nods. She begins her stew and then pauses, mid bite.

"Oh my god."

Mori looks at her curiously, as does Honey.

"This is the best tasting stew I've ever had," Almond says in amazement. Honey blinks his wide eyes.

"Really? It's commoners stew," Honey says, poking at a carrot with his spoon. Almond blushes slightly.

"Honey," Mori says in a soft, but firm voice. Honey blinks and looks at him, before moving his eyes to Almond.

"Oh, I'm sorry Momo, I didn't mean to offend you," Honey says softly, his wide eyes concerned. Almond blinks and laughs, shaking her head.

"No, no, it's fine. I was just surprised is all. Though, out of curiosity, what would make you commoner?"

Honey ponders for a few moments. "Not having a large mansion, and having to cook your own food."

Almond laughs, but Mori nods slightly.

"Oh."

Honey and Mori look at her.

"Well, say hello to the local commoner then," Almond says with a smile. Honey grins.

"It's not a bad thing, really. Haruhi is as well, and we love her!" Honey says happily. Mori nods.

"I never said it was," Almond says reassuringly, finishing her stew. She waits for Honey to finish, before beginning the cake. Honey noticed this, and quickly ate, pushing his bowl to the side.

Almond smiles and then looks at Mori. She then stabs a piece of cake, swirling the piece in strawberry sauce, before looking at Mori. "Here, have some."

Mori blinks and looks at her. "No thank you."

Almond stares at him blankly, as Honey devours the strawberries on his cake. "Just a piece, please?"

Mori looks her over, before sighing in defeat. Honey cheers slightly, as Mori takes the piece, eating it. He passes the fork back and smiles slightly. Almond looked cheerful, as she began to eat her cake. It was superb, but she ended up giving the strawberries to Honey.

Soon, they were all finished eating, and Honey was chattering excitedly about today, and what the host clubs theme was.

"I love snow, so this should be fun! I get to be a snow bunny, Kyoya asked Hikaru and Kaoru's mom to make a special jacket for me, with bunny ears!" Honey says, snuggling Bun-Chan. Almond giggles, then looks to Mori.

"What's your costume?"

"Snowboarder."

"Aw, snowboarding is so much fun!" Mori and Honey look at her. She examines their faces. "You've never been snowboarding." They both shake their head.

"Nope, not even once!" Honey says.

"Unbelievable. Are there any skiing spots around here?" Almond asks. Mori shrugs.

"We could go to Alaska, isn't there a lot of snow there? And penguins?" Honey asks in excitement. Almond looks at him oddly.

"Alaska is far away, and the trip would cost a lot," she says, glancing to the side. She wouldn't have enough money, and even if she did, the money would have to go to that damn glass sapphire ball.

"No worries, we have a private jet!" Honey says with a giggle. Almond gawks.

"We'll discuss it later," Mori says softly, smiling at Almond. Honey and herself both nod, as the bell rings.

"You have music with Tamaki?" Mori asks, looking at her. She nods, after picking up the trays and dishes. Honey stops her.

"Oh, no, we leave these here. The maids look after it," Honey says happily. Almond raises an eyebrow, before complying. "The music room for the class is beside the clubs room."

"Oh, alright, I know where that is then," she says happily. Mori smiles.

"Have a good class, Momo. Come on Honey, let's go," Mori says softly, as Honey nods.

"See you later, Momo!" Honey chirps, grabbing a hold of Mori's sleeve, following him out. Almond smiles, and walks out of the cafeteria, over to the music rooms. She yawns, as the music teacher opens the doors.

He looked really snooty, with slicked back salt and pepper hair, a sharp nose, and an odd looking suit. He looks at her, as if disgusted. "Who are you, miss?"

"Almond Hawthorne-Hanabi," Almond says. He examines her, before looking behind her.

"Hey Momo, how're classes going? Also, good afternoon, Mr. Ohiro," Tamaki says coolly, placing his hand on Almonds shoulder, leading her inside. She could hear the teacher tut silently, as he leaves the classroom. "Sorry, he can be kind of stuck up."

Almond laughs and nods, smiling at Tamaki. "Go figure."

Tamaki grins, as he leads her to the instruments. "Do you play anything?" He sits down at the grand, shining black piano.

"Well, my mother, Evangeline, used to be a composer when she was in her teens to thirties, so she taught me to play the piano," Almond says. Tamaki blinks and then grins, sliding over on the shiny black bench.

"Well, let's see what you got."

Almond nods, and moves her dress, so she could fit. She blushes slightly, embarrassed with how large the crinoline really was. She cracks her knuckles and looks at the keys. "I haven't played in a while; I'll just do a quick warm up." Tamaki nods.

Almond exhales nervously, and finds the keys, positioning her feet correctly. She begins to play Heart and Soul, the first song she learned how to play. She watches her fingers closely, but then closes her eyes, seeing if she could do it without looking. She runs through the song, before grinning at her victory. Tamaki applauds silently, and smiles.

"I've always liked Heart and Soul, it's so uplifting and pretty," Tamaki says softly, smiling at Almond.

Almond nods, and watches Tamaki pull up some music sheets, placing them in front of them.

"Let's try a duet?" He asks, grinning. Almond nods, examining the music sheets.

"Carol of the Bells?" Almond says, reading the name off. Tamaki smiles and nods. "Alright, let's try."

With a nod, Tamaki begins, and Almond soon enters, as they both play. With nearly no flaws, they finish the song, Almond grinning at Tamaki. Suddenly a loud applause sounds from behind them. Almond jumps and looks over her shoulder, Tamaki doing the same.

The entire music class was sitting there, listening. Mr. Ohiro was also clapping, a slight smile on his thin face.

"That was conducted nicely, you both should be proud," Mr. Ohiro begins, striding over to the two. "Would you both like to play that in the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival?"

Tamaki and Almond look at each other.

"You would get an excellent mark, and it would look great on your transcripts," Mr. Ohiro bribes.

"What do you think?" Tamaki asks, but the excitement in his eyes gave him away.

"Alright, sounds like it could be fun." Almond says. Tamaki beams, and then nods to Mr. Ohiro. With that, he claps his hands, and tells the class more about the festival, and what their roll was. All the students agreed to play in it, but Tamaki and Almond were the lead pianists.

The entire class got set up, and began to run through their parts. Almond and Tamaki practiced the main part of the song a few times, trying to perfect it, with Mr. Ohiro's supervision. This took up the entire class, and by the time Almond and Tamaki had ran through the song about six times, the bell rang.

Tamaki stood up and stretched, offering his hand to Almond. She smiles and takes it, being hoisted up. "Let's head to the clubs room, it's our half hour break."

Almond nods, as they walk through a connected door, entering the club room on the other side. Kyoya, Honey and Mori were already there, sitting at the table. Kyoya looks up.

"Hello, Tamaki, Almond. How are you?" He asks. Tamaki sighs dramatically and strides over to Kyoya.

"I'm just wonderful, I found my partner for the Festival coming up, and she's simply marvelous," Tamaki gushes, flailing his arms towards Almond. She smiles and rubs the back of her neck.

"Good, that should be great," Kyoya says, looking at Almond. "I didn't know you played the piano."

"Only a little bit," Almond says, sitting at the table. Mori hands her a cup of coffee, which she happily accepts.

"So, for this afternoon, we're doing a 'Winter Wonderland' theme, all your costumes are in the back," Kyoya explains, looking at his clipboard. "Just be friendly, cute and daring."

Everybody nods. The twins and Haruhi enter then, and take a seat at the table. Kyoya looks at them. "I assume you have everything ready?"

"Yep," Haruhi says, smiling. Kyoya nods, then smiles.

"This afternoon shall be fun. Everybody go try on your costumes, please and Almond, please stay behind." Kyoya states, as people go to the back. Almond looks at Kyoya.

"Yes?"

"So, you'll be portraying a male for the host club, and I've rethought the name. Your name shall be Alexander Hawthorne-Hanabi," Kyoya states. "Your twin brother, who is taking-"

"Advanced classes, which is why people don't see him around the school." Almond finishes. Kyoya looks at her then smiles.

"Precisely. Your costume is in the back, please, go try it on," Kyoya says, motioning. Almond nods, and walks around the table, towards the back room. She opens the door, and notices Haruhi standing there. With a smile from Haruhi, she holds out the costume.

Almond raises her eyebrows, taking the extremely long white coat, with a very furry trim, and a pair of white pants, and elegant looking white mitts, with white, shiny shoes. "Oh lord."

Haruhi laughs and pulls her into an area surrounding by drapes, as she sighs. "We'll just change together, it's not a big deal." Almond nods in agreement, slinking off the dress.

"I really hate this dress," Almond complains, as Haruhi hands her some tensor bandages. With a raise of the eyebrow, Haruhi laughs.

"I don't like the dress either. The bandages are for your chest, to bind them," Haruhi explains, showing Almond her bindings.

"Oh, I get it." Almond laughs and begins to wrap herself up, pinning the bandages back. After putting on a white shirt, she slips into the well ironed pants, doing up the shoes. She then slides the big furry coat on, and then the mitts. By the time she finishes dressing, Haruhi was wearing something similar, but she was wearing white shorts and big boots, instead.

"I look like a little kid," Haruhi grumbles. Almond snorts, and Haruhi looks over. Her eyes widen. "You look great."

"Do I?" Almond mutters, looking down at herself. "Oh, I'll have to do something with my hair and make-up."

"Tamaki and the twins can take care of that, come on," Haruhi says with a chuckle, walking out of the curtained area. Almond follows, and stands with Haruhi, as Kyoya examines them.

With a slight smirk from Kyoya, the rest of the crew comes out.

The twins and Tamaki blink and stare at Almond, but Honey runs forward, his white floppy ears bouncing. "You look so nice, Haru-chan! Momo!"

Both Haruhi and Almond smile. Kyoya clears his throat, rising to his feet.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, can you find something to do with Almond's hair? Tamaki, you know what to do," Kyoya says. Tamaki pouts, and then nods.

The twins walk over to Almond and grab her wrists, pulling her to a small table, with brushes, hair spray, accessories, and other items. She sits down, as the twins begin to grab her long hair, brushing it.

"Whoa, your hair is really nice," Kaoru compliments, feeling the weight of it. "So long and thick."

Almond snorts. Tamaki makes his appearance, leaning in close to Almond's face.

"Hmm."

Haruhi joins then next, sitting on the table. She snickers.

"I really don't see how they can make you look like a man," Haruhi says, shaking her head. Almond nods in agreement.

"Seems a little far fetc— Ow!" Almond says.

"Sorry, sorry!" Hikaru apologizes, smiling sheepishly. She pouts, and then Tamaki grabs her chin gently, turning her to face him. He frowns.

"Let's see what I can do," Tamaki says, as he wipes at her eyes with a make-up removal wipe, as the twins pin all her hair up.

Almond sits in silence, looking at Haruhi, who was laughing. Almond crosses her eyes, and Haruhi snorts. This goes on the entire time, until the twins and Tamaki stand back, beaming.

"Perfect!" All three say at once. Almond blinks as a mirror is shoved in her face. With a slight squeal, jolt and flinch, she gawks.

"Holy shit!"

Her eyelashes were thickened considerably, and all her hair was pinned back. She was wearing a wig, of medium length auburn hair, the bangs falling jaggedly into her eyes. Tamaki had outlined her jaw bones, to make them look more prominent, and has also used this powder on her face to make the make-up stick.

She, surprisingly, looking like a man.

"Good work, that's suitable," Kyoya comments, nodding. Tamaki then blinks.

"Who is she going to be?"

Kyoya looks at him.

"Like, I mean, we have the two twin terr-" With a playful smack from the twins, Tamaki continues. "The two twin devils, the natural one, the strong and silent type, the boy Lolita, the cool type, and then myself, the princely type!"

Kyoya nods slightly, and looks at Haruhi and Almond.

"I'd say the bad ass type," Haruhi states, shrugging. Almond chuckles.

"I could be a player. I can speak of all my wild adventures, and how I'm so daring and brave," Almond says, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I think we can come up with a better term than bad ass," Kyoya says, but he did approve of this idea.

"The Confident one?" Almond says. Kyoya looks at her.

The rest of the group nods in their approval.

"Alright, you're the confident one. Try to sound like a man though. I want no mess ups," Kyoya says, with a smile. "The costumes look good."

Tamaki grins.

"Also, we're all excused from last period, we need to help out our newest member," Kyoya says finally. Everybody blinks.

"Sweet!" Both the twins shout.

"Now, we'll each have a one on one with Almond, oh pardon me, Alexander, and help him get used to things. Tamaki, you're first, everybody else, continue setting up." Kyoya says with authority, and then turns away.

"I thought I was the president," Tamaki pouts. Kyoya just smirks and walks with the rest of a group. Tamaki turns his attention to Almond, Alexander. "So, I'm the princely type. I flirt, and make girls happy."

Almond nods leaning back, looking uncaring. Tamaki raises his eyebrow.

"I'm in character," Almond explains, rolling her eyes. Tamaki gets a look of surprise, and then nods.

"I'll pretend to be a girl," Tamaki says with a devilish grin. He then slides in close to Almond. "You're so handsome Alexander!"

Almond smirks slightly and shrugs, looking up at the sky. "Took me a while to be this way."

"You don't even need to try though!"

"Living the life I had, I definitely had to try."

Tamaki smiles, looking impressed. "You even sound like a man, you're doing good."

Almond looks at him with an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean? I am a man."

It was silent, and then Tamaki and Almond both started to laugh. Soon, Tamaki was switched off with the twins.

"We're the devilish, but loving,"

"Brothers, so don't get freaked out,"

"When we get all over each other."

Almond blinks.

"Girls find the forbidden action very attractive," the both say with a grin.

Next up was Honey and Mori.

"I'm the cute one! Girls like a cute boy!" Honey says with a smile, sitting across Almond's lap. Mori was seated beside her.

"Strong and silent type," Mori says softly. "Apparently, girls like that."

Next, Haruhi.

They just chatted the entire time though, and Kyoya noticed this. So he stepped in, for his turn.

"I'm the cool and intelligent one," Kyoya says, sitting beside Almond. He smirks at her.

"Oh really?" She asks, her eyebrows rising.

Kyoya nods, and tilts his head back. "Yep, girls like that kind of thing."

"You've definitely knocked out all the variables," Almond says.

"You bet."

With that, he looks at the clock then stands up. Tamaki claps his hands and motions for everybody to follow. Almond gawks at the scene, surprised at the set-up she failed to notice.

In the center of the room, was fake snow, a snow covered throne, large snowman bases, and twinkling stars overhead. Tamaki dims the lights, and the snow glows a light blue, as the stars shine with bright white lights. Almond stumbles over, as Tamaki positions everybody. Once they were seated, Almond looks around awkwardly, because she was left standing.

"Come sit here," Tamaki says, motioning for a spot beside his legs. Almond nods, and climbs the set, sitting beside him, holding onto his leg. Mori was on her other side, and he resting his arm around her shoulders. "Get in character, Alexander."

Almond nods, and leans back, looking unconcerned.

"Showtime."


	4. Chapter Four: Time To Bond

"Oh wow, Alexander, you're so handsome," a girl with curly brown hair gushes, placing her delicate hand on Almonds, well, Alexander's hand. Almond smirks.

"I know, but I'm clearly no comparison to you," Almond compliments, looking at the girl through her bangs. The girl blushes and glances away, giggling. Almond wanted to gag, but instead, she leaned back and placed her hands behind the large furry hood. Two more girls walk over, looking nervous.

"Mind if we sit with you, A-Alexander?" A blonde girl asks, blushing.

"Go for it," Almond says with a smirk. "More the merrier, yeah?"

"Of course!" Says a brunette. The two girls sit down, and stare at Almond.

"So, tell us about yourself, Alexander. What have you done? What are your hobbies?"

Almond stretches and then sits up, leaning on the table with her chin resting in her hand. A smirk plays on her lips, as she narrows her eyes.

"Are you sure you really want to know? I wouldn't want to frighten you pretty ladies," Almond says in a flirtatious, calming voice. The girls all blush and glance to each other.

"No, please, we're curious."

Almond smirks.

"Well, back at home, I liked to go out and party, but not like the parties you ladies have. Instead of ballroom dancing, and eating calamari, I went out to an open field, stood near a bonfire, and got wasted."

All the girls gasp, their eyes widening. Almond continues.

"And at the end of the night, I'd go home with my friends, and we laid there, talking about how wasted we were, how much vodka we drank. You know stuff like that," Almond says, winking.

"That's so different compared to us," whispers a girl, looking at Almond.

"It seems so forbidden, but so daring," whispered another.

"I wouldn't recommend it to you lovely ladies. Crazy stuff happens at those parties, and I wouldn't want to see any of your pretty faces in trouble," Almond coos, reaching out to run a delicate finger down each girls cheek.

Every girl at the table squeals with delight.

"She's a natural at this," Tamaki comments, supervising with Kyoya. "She didn't even come to sit at my table to learn some tactics, she just jumped right in."

"Mm. It is very impressive indeed. Though, I'm curious, Tamaki," Kyoya says, looking at his friend. Tamaki blinks. "What are we going to do about tomorrow's theme? We already have Haruhi covered, but we don't have anything for Almond."

Tamaki gasps, and then places his chin in his hand, pondering. "Very correct, Kyoya, this is quite the predicament, isn't it."

"Yes, it is," Kyoya says. "Also, have you realized the twins keep hovering near her?"

Tamaki blinks, and looks over to where Almond, Alexander, was entertaining the ladies. Near them, were the two redheaded twins, watching. "What could they be up to?"

"I'm not too sure," Kyoya says, tilting his head to the side. Then, the group of ladies seated with Almond gets up, giggling and blushing, as another larger group takes their seats. "Almond is sure attracting a lot of attention."

Almond smiles at the girls, lowering her eyelids to gaze at them through her eyelashes.

This was fun for her.

"Where have you gorgeous ladies been hiding all my life?" Almond asks, winking.

Every single girl started to blush and giggle.

"Alexander, why haven't we've seen you around?" Asks a petite red head, fluttering her eyelashes. The twins then dive in, wrapping their arms around Almond.

Almond blinks and glances to her side, looking at Hikaru.

"He's been busy,"

"Keeping us company."

At the same time, the twins both lean in and lick Almonds' cheeks, before holding hands and walking away. The girls were going ballistic, squealing, blushing and fanning themselves.

Almond rolls her eyes discreetly, and glares at the twins, who were sniggering to themselves.

"Ah. Now things make a bit more sense," Kyoya comments with a nod. Tamaki was gawking, but he quickly snaps his head towards Kyoya.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they were expecting a question like that to come up, so they jumped in to avoid the answer. I think we're planning on using the whole, 'advanced classes' as a back up plan."

Tamaki huffs, and folds his arms watching.

"Jealous?"

Tamaki spins around and looks at Kaoru, who was hovering beside him, Hikaru leaning against his brother.

"I'm not jealous of anybody," Tamaki says, looking at Kyoya. "Mommy, they're bothering me."

Kyoya sighs and looks at Tamaki. "Daddy," he begins, fighting the urge to roll his eyes, "Why don't you go entertain those ladies over there?"

Tamaki blinks and then grins nodding. He flounces off in the girls' direction, whipping out roses from his winter coat.

Kyoya sighs, looking at the twins.

"Be careful with what you do, we don't want Almond being found out," Kyoya says. The twins wave him off, going to a table.

"So, what do you ladies do with your time?" Almond asks, not really interested.

They all begin to say their activities, and the clubs they're in. Almond nods a few times, and smirks at others, causing the girls to be confused with glee. A little tanned girl, probably of Korean descent, leans in close to Almond. Almond in return blinks and leans closer as well, reaching out to rub her finger over the girls chin.

"Your skin is so pretty," the girl gushes, trying not to blush.

"Not as pretty as yours, darling," Almond says softly, leaning back.

This continued for the rest of the hour, before the club shut everything down, all the girls flocking out of the room, happy. Once Kyoya shuts the door and locks it, Almond lets out a loud sigh, unzipping her winter coat. She shrugs it off, and then takes off the wig, unpinning her hair. She leans back and sighs, again.

"You did well," Haruhi compliments, appearing by her side. Almond grins.

"It was pretty fun, I'll admit. Though, I feel bad for toying with their emotions so much," Almond says, as Tamaki appears next.

"Toying? Oh no, no, no! We aren't toying with their emotions, we're just giving them the attention they desire, and the joy they crave," Tamaki tuts, his eyes sparkling. Almond rolls her eyes, and looks at him upside down, considering her head was leaning over the edge of the chair.

"Whatever you say, Tamaki."

Tamaki grins, and then claps his hands. "Everybody, come here please! We have a change in theme, for tomorrow!"

The club gathers around, as Almond sits up, turning in her seat to listen to Tamaki. He clears his throat and grins.

"We're going to be having a little majestic, romantic evening!" Tamaki cheers. Everybody remains silent, waiting for him to continue. "Our little pianist, Almond, will be playing throughout the afternoon, Kyoya and Mori, you're going to be 'waiters', Haruhi and I shall entertain guests, Hikaru, Kaoru, you guys will also be entertaining guests, and Honey, you'll be in charge of sweets!"

"Sweet."

"Sounds interesting."

"So, we're serving supper?"

"Why do I have to play?"

"I'll order the costumes now."

Tamaki just grins and waves everybody off, looking impressed with himself. "It'll be great fun, the girls will love it. We'll hang dark velvet drapes over the windows for ambience, have rose petals everywhere, and give the ladies each a lovely red rose. It will be a great success!"

"I have ordered the costumes," Kyoya says, closing his cell phone. "The flowers will be here tomorrow morning, the velvet drapes will be here tomorrow afternoon."

"Perfect! Well, let's have some coffee before we depart, and also," Tamaki pauses, looking at Almond, "We're all going out tonight, for some off the scene club activities, and since you're a part of the club, I insist that you join us!"

Almond blinks and rubs the back of her neck. "Well, I'll see what my mothers' and aunt are doing, then I'll text one of you?"

Haruhi smiles. "You should come, it'll be fun."

Suddenly, a piece of paper is shoved into Almond's face, as she takes it. Kyoya smiles slightly. "Text me to see if you're able to make it."

Almond nods, and then stands up, looking at the clock. "Oh, I have to go. My aunt should be here."

Tamaki claps his hands, looking at the group. "Let us escort you down, but first, change out of your winter gear." Almond snorts, and trudges to the changing area, happily removing the winter clothing, and the bindings. She soon emerges out of the room, with her hair in a loose bun, wearing the canary yellow monstrosity.

"Let's go," Almond says happily, as Haruhi walks beside her. Almond smiles. They easily made a connection, and were definitely on the path to friendship.

They all climb down the staircases, and out the main doors, walking to the end of the path. They walk past the gate, and Almond looks down the road, frowning slightly.

"I wonder where she is," Almond comments. She opens her cell phone, and notices a text from Evangeline.

'Baby, I'll be coming to get you in five. Be outside! Love, mom1.'

Almond smiles, and notices it was sent ten minutes ago, meanin-

Then, a silver ford truck drives down the street, parking in front of the group. Almonds mouth drops, as both her mother's grin from the windows, her aunt tucked in the middle.

"The hell did you get this beast?" Almond asks loudly, running to the truck. Her mothers' and aunt laugh.

"Bought it for three grand! Pretty damn cheap for such a decent truck," Kitashi says, before noticing the group of people. "Are these your new friends?"

Almond blushes and then grins nodding. She motions for everybody to come over, so they comply.

"Guys, these are my mothers' and my aunt, Evangeline, Kitashi and Kina, mothers' one and two, plus aunt one, these are the guys," Almond says with a chuckle. Everybody then crowds the window.

"I'm Hikaru, and this is Kaoru!" The twins say at the same time, pointing to each other. The women in the truck chuckle.

"Kyoya."

"Hi! I'm Honey, and this is Bun-Chan!" Honey says, holding up his rabbit. Almond could have sworn Evangeline wanted to leap through the window and hug Honey instantly. Mori then smiles slightly.

"I'm Mori," he says softly.

"I'm Tamaki," the tall blonde says, with a broad grin.

"I'm Haruhi," she says, looking at Kina. "Though, I think you already know that."

It goes silent, as Almonds aunt peers out the window. A look of recognition flashes through her eyes, as she grins. "Little Haruhi! How's your dad doing sweetie? I haven't visited you're old man in ages," Kina says as Haruhi laughs softly.

"He's good, he was actually planning on calling you soon. I didn't know you were Almond's aunt," Haruhi says. Kina grins.

"Well, now you know," she laughs. Almond looks between the two, kind of in shock. She then clears her throat.

"Well, I have a question," Almond says, catching her mothers' attention. "The group invited me to join them tonight, and I was wondering if I could?"

Kitashi smiles. "Of course, I don't see why not."

"As long as you stay out of trouble, that is," Evangeline says with a grin. "Don't pull out the whole 'I'm Canadian, I love beer, let's go pet a moose' act, alright?"

Almond huffs, as some people of the group snigger, mainly the twins.

"Don't tell me you've done that," Tamaki jokes. Almond rolls her eyes and glances away.

"Maybe."

Everybody laughs, Kyoya and Mori simply smiled.

"Well sweet pea, hope in. We're going shopping," Evangeline says, before looking at the group. "She'll be available at about 6pm, if that works."

Tamaki grins brightly, and bows. "Of course, we'll be there."

"I know where she's staying, so I'll just give them the directions," Haruhi says with a smile. Almond grins and nods, hugging Haruhi. She hugs back, also smiling.

Almond was about to get in, when she heard a chorus of, 'Hey!', behind her.

The twins were standing there, with their arms open, mocking hurt. Almond rolls her eyes, walking over to them, hugging Hikaru and Kaoru at the same time, before leaning over to hug Honey, who happily hugs her back. She stands back up and looks at Kyoya.

He looks back.

"Why the hell not," Almond says, as she hugs him. Kyoya sighs softly, but hugs her back none the less. She let go of him and grinned up at Mori. He just smiled and slightly opened his arms for her. She hugs him, and he gently hugs back. Talk about a gentle giant.

She looks at Tamaki, and then sticks her tongue out, turning away.

"Momo, why!" Tamaki says, pouting.

"Because, you made me wear that stupid snow suit today," she says with a grin. "See you guys later."

"Bye!" Came the farewell from the group, as Kitashi opened the door to let her daughter in.

After awkwardly climbing to the back seat with her large dress, she sighs heavily.

The group walked back, as they drove off. Evangeline looks at her daughter from the rear view mirror.

"How was school? Seems like you're fitting in quite well," she says with a laugh.

Almond laughs as well, glancing out the window. Oh yeah, definitely.

"It was great, I really liked it. I found a music room, went in, and then I was bombarded by that group. I was… Accepted quickly, and I became friends with them. Each one of them are in at least one of my classes," Almond says, smiling.

"Great! That's amazing," Kitashi says, smiling proudly at her daughter.

"I'm also in a Host Club," Almond says. The truck grows silent, but Kina shivers with laughter.

"A Host Club? What's that?" Evangeline asks.

Kina then bursts out laughing.

"Oh my, you're in the same club Haruhi is in?" Kina asks while laughing. Almond nods.

"What is it?"

Before Almond could explain, Kina takes over. "They basically answer to the desires of the teenage girls there, making them happy, spending time with them and giving them all the attention they want."

Kitashi and Evangeline look at each other.

"What?"

Almond laughs and nods.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. Though, I dress up like a guy for it," Almond says, waiting for her parents reactions.

It was quiet, except for Kina's laughing. Soon, her parents begin to laugh as well.

The rest of the ride to the shopping district was nothing but giggles and laughter, as they parked the truck. They all climbed out, and headed for a small clothing store.

"I buy most of my stuff here," Kina explains, opening the bamboo door. Almond nods, and enters behind her mothers'.

Her eyes instantly zeroed in on this pretty cocoa brown kimono, with faded pink lilies as a pattern. It was shorter, more casual, even with white lace at the bottom, and around the band for the waist. Almond instantly goes over to it, checking the price tag. It was cheap. She looks over at Evangeline, who was watching her, and smiles sheepishly.

Evangeline raises her eyebrows.

"It's cheap?" Almond says with a grin. Evangeline rolls her eyes and nods, as Almond happily pulls the Kimono off the wall.

"Going to wear that tonight?" Kina asks, grinning.

"Perhaps."

"Well, you're going to need a hair piece then," Kitashi comments, looking over. Almond blinks.

Evangeline then claps her hands. "I know, come here!"

Almond obeys, and follows her mother to a small stand, where pink and white flowered headbands were resting.

"Perfect," Kitashi comments, appearing at Almonds side. Almond frowns.

"Are you sure? That seems really fancy," Almond mutters. Kina rolls her eyes along with Almond's mothers'.

"No, we're getting one."

With a defeated sigh, Evangeline pulls off a two flowered headband and takes the Kimono from Almond. They browse the store for a bit, before paying, and piling back into the truck. After getting home, Almond checks the time. Twenty minutes until she went out. With a quick jog, she runs up to her room, and happily strips out of her yellow dress, putting the kimono on. She slides off her leggings, and wears black flats, looking in the mirror.

The kimono looked exceptionally well, but the manly make-up on her face had to go. She goes to her bathroom and scrubs her face, before re-applying her usual make-up, eyeliner and mascara. After brushing her wavy curls, she places the headband on, examining her reflection.

Pretty, not to elegant, but not casual. Perfect.

Her phone vibrates, as she picks it up, sitting on the bathroom counter.

'On our way.'

She blinks. She couldn't remember ever giving her number to anybody in the club yet.

Kyoya. Of course. She rolls her eyes, and then hears the doorbell chime.

That was fast.

She exits the bathroom, and walks down the hallway, opening the door.

Standing there, dressed in black pants and a white, slightly ruffled, long sleeved shirts, were Kaoru and Hikaru. They grin brightly.

"You look good," they say at the same time, inspecting her outfit. They then pause and give each other a glance. "You don't think..."

Almond raises her eyebrows.

"Our mother designed that dress," Hikaru says with a grin, as Almond blinks.

"Wow, that's really ironic," she laughs. "I'll be back later!" Almond chants behind her shoulder. She could hear mumbled replies of 'yeah, be good' in the distance.

"Well, let's go then," Kaoru says with a grin, stepping aside.

On the street, was an elegant black stretch limo. Her mouth drops.

"What is this?" She asks frantically.

Hikaru and Kaoru look at each other, before looking at Almond.

"Our ride," they say at the same time. They noticed her dumbfounded look.

"Welcome to the life of the rich," Hikaru jokes, giving her a shove towards the limo.

No shit.


End file.
